NorthPoint Astrology Journal February 9 to 15, 2015 by Pam Younghans Highlighted Aspects:

NorthPoint Astrology Journal

February 9 to 15, 2015 by Pam Younghans

Highlighted Aspects:MON: Venus semisquare Mercury; TUE: Jupiter quincunx Venus; WED: Mercury stations direct 6:56am PST; THU: Uranus square Ceres; SUN: Pluto conjunct Ceres

 

TO THE RELIEF of those who have been struggling with communication issues recently, Mercury completes its retrograde phase on Wednesday. In the past three weeks, since Mercury started moving backward on January 21, we may have met more than our usual share of unexpected delays or detours.

And yet, there is method to the madness. These interruptions in our planned trajectories have been cosmically designed to put us in touch with an alternate way of interpreting our reality. In keeping with that theme, dreams have carried deeper messages and insights during this time. In waking life, magical solutions have appeared, coming first in the guise of issues that needed to be resolved, but soon decloaking and showing us that the problems were really solutions in disguise.

As Mercury begins forward motion again this week, and gradually picks up speed over the coming days, we'll have more opportunities to see the gifts in recent events, and to apply the insights we have gained.

AT FIRST GLANCE, other planetary activity this week seems fairly low-key. But for those who include the "dwarf planet" Ceres on their list of important astrological objects, the latter half of the week is highly energized. Ceres squares Uranus on Thursday and then aligns with Pluto on Sunday, acting as yet another trigger of the ongoing influence of the Pluto-Uranus square.

Demetra George, in her book Asteroid Goddesses, tells us that "Astrologically, Ceres describes the ways in which we face the issues of self-worth and self-esteem, relationship to our parents and children, attachment, dependency, loss and separation, rejection, grief, sharing, work and productivity." With Ceres currently in Capricorn, our self-worth is perhaps overly-defined by our latest accomplishment and whether we've succeeded according to the expectations and rules of society.

HOWEVER, with Uranus squaring Ceres this week, a rebellious attitude is awakened. We may push against the daily responsibilities and goals we've set for ourselves, requiring that we find new ways to define our value.

This Uranus-Ceres square takes us off-balance and opens us up to the possibility for change. And this is just the energetic opening that Pluto needs for doing its transformational work.

AS LORD of the Underworld, Pluto often requires that we let go of something we have become attached to, so that a new, improved form can take its place. It is not that the existing object, person, or situation is bad for us, but rather that our attachment to it has taken control of our lives in some way.

Pluto's ultimate goal for us is empowerment. Sometimes, on our way to achieving that goal, we must first release our grip on an attitude or a situation that has actually become a source of our disempowerment.

As Pluto and Ceres align in Capricorn this week, it will be a valuable exercise for us each to ask ourselves some direct questions:

• What goals am I attached to, that no longer serve me, and am I ready to release them?
• How have I been defining my self-worth, and what would it mean if I were to remove all external requirements for feeling good about myself?
• How would it change my life if I were to let go of the fear of loss and replace it with the knowing that "every death is followed by a birth, and every loss is replenished by a gain?" 

In peace,


Pam

Photo: Auroras over Fairbanks, Alaska on February 7, 2015 (credit: Sacha Layos, posted on SpaceWeather.com)